Karen Lambert
Name: Karen Lambert Species/Form: Rhyhorn Type: Ground/Rock Ability: Rock Head Gender: Female Position: Combat Tactics Teacher Age: 39 Physical Description: Lambert is a particularly large Rhyhorn morph who teaches at the PCC. Bulky and heavily armored, she's absolutely massive at roughly 7 feet tall and weighing in at over 800 pounds. Rocky natural armor and a prominent forward horn give her an imposing appearance, which is marred primarily by her friendly nature and tendency to wear school-issued business attire. She has a heavy, wide frame, and though she's quite slender for a Rhyhorn, the simple fact remains that she's no lightweight. When actively teaching fighting in a hands-on fashion, she features a more relaxed training outfit. Her rather unruly long, russet-brown hair is normally tied up in a ponytail or bun when teaching. Though rarely seen, Lambert's body is pockmarked with healed scars from the countless cuts and scrapes she suffered in her old job before she became a teacher. She has an especially deep one on the right side of her face, but it's often hidden by a mixture of makeup (for the skin that it covers) and modeling putty (for where it crosses into her plating). Personality: Kindly and straightforward, Lambert is a generally-liked presence in the PCC. Her classes are accessible, easy-to-understand, and teach vitally-important tactics - everything from how to use terrain to advanced techniques on dealing with status effects and escaping areas if injured. Many of her classes are considered borderline-necessities by both combatants and would-be rescue teams. On the downside, Lambert has a reputation of being somewhat coddling of weaker fighters - Lambert believes wholeheartedly that anyone who applies themselves sufficiently, and who invests enough time will eventually be able to hold their own, so long as they never give up on it. Karen is also infamous for her complete intolerance of anyone who slacks or sleeps during a lesson, and is known for hurling chalkboard erasers, fruit, or.... Anything at hand, really, at anyone she deems slacking off. She is also utterly intolerant of any of her students being picked on, and of all the teachers in the PCC, is rumored that Lambert has disciplined Valerie more than any other teacher. When riled up, Lambert can actually be shockingly straightforward, and has been known to throw down readily when attacked; more than willing to help out with sparring practice, she has the derogatory nickname of "Professor Headbutt" amongst her peers. She is quite fond of helping students uncover new tricks using their ablities. Background: After failing to become a police officer in her youth, Lambert decided to do the next best thing, and she became a Bounty Hunter - an agent sent out to capture fugitives that skipped bail. She worked directly for bail bondsmen - most commonly several local banks - and worked to capture such fugitives so as to ensure they showed up in court. Because of the dangerous nature of her work, and because of her natural bulk and strength, Lambert rather excelled at her work, though she suffered numerous injuries in the line of duty and had a rather well-known reputation for getting things done reliably. She always felt something was missing, however, and eventually quit after almost 15 years in the field. Perhaps there was something else out there for her, something she never considered... Soonafter, she went through a correspondence course, and began training to become a teacher. Lambert took naturally to the job, though some adaptation from her old job to her new one took time. She eventually began working for the PCC following a lengthy screening process, and wound up, due to her extensive experience, teaching the Combat Tactics class. The rest, as they say, is history. Character Overview 'Strengths:' Battle: Tough as a dump truck and nearly as big, Lambert has a staggering presence and is not afraid to throw down, anywhere, any time. She's a veteran of countless fights, having had everything from firearms to blunt instruments directed her way, and she's survived them all due to her natural bulk, quick wits, and liberal use of her massive horn and armor. She is physically strong, immensely durable, and far smarter than her huge profile would suggest. On the rare occasions she has to fight as part of a tournament, she readily uses her Eviolite to bolster her already-incredible natural defenses. Make no mistakes, however: If Lambert makes a mistake in a fight, she will not make it twice. Social: Lambert is accessible and friendly. She's extremely supportive of her students and encourages them often to try new things. Lambert believes wholeheartedly that a strong will overcomes all other obstacles, and tries very hard to ingrain this into her students; her optimism is often described as infectious, and she's been known to get solid combat performance out of even substandard combatants. Academia: Seemingly at odds with her large size, Lambert is extremely savvy. Though hardly the most brilliant teacher the PCC has, Lambert's experience lends itself well to her teaching duties; often she can show her students how clever applications of abilities can eclipse raw power and speed any day. She's more than willing to get hands-on or even scuffed up in order to show a lesson off, counting on her considerable natural defenses to carry her through. 'Weaknesses:' Battle: Lambert deals poorly with flying opponents, and those who exploit range. She is far from helpless in this regard, mind - she has a number of moves intended to drive opponents out and deal with pesky flyers and ranged fighters alike; but her faith in her defense and relative weakness at these roles leads to her being overconfident. She can be dealt with effectively by repeatedly changing tactics in a fight; one well-known exhibition match ended poorly for her because the opponent kept changing up how they attacked, using a cunning attack-and-retreat regimen. Social: Lambert often comes across as overly emotional, straightforward, and blunt. Her hopeful philosophy is one bound mostly in personal experience, and isn't likely to change, but there are some cases where it cannot apply, and she deals poorly with this situation. Her bold tendencies and fearsome appearance furthermore make her imposing and even scary, even when she's not trying to be. Academia: Whilst Lambert is very canny and quite skilled at her specialty, she isn't exactly what one would call "book smart." She has relatively little conventional educational experience, and is one of relatively few PCC staffers that does not expressly come from an educational background. Given her major, this has not been an issue, but the issue has come up in the past when Lambert had to deal with something district-mandated that she otherwise wasn't very good at, such as SCANTRON testing. Moveset *'Bulldoze:' **One of Lambert's best-known attacks. The Rhyhorn stomps the ground, generating shockwaves which damage opponents and launch them into the air, even if they're behind cover. Barring proper recovery, this attack offers virtually guaranteed knock-down and impressive range, as well - the localized tremor hits a 20 foot radius, and can be done from far away, but it is unable to hit mobile targets without considerable prediction by Lambert, due to the fact that she has to stomp the ground at just the right angle to cause a specific target point to be hit by the tremor. *'Take Down:' **Almost as well-known, Lambert charges forward with this move, smashing through everything in her path, as a Rhyhorn is want to do. This move is unfocused, so enemies are more likely to be thrown aside by this move than be trampled, but the amount of destructive force Lambert is capable of is quite impressive. She often uses this to take down enemies in defensive positions. Due to her Rock Head trait, Lambert suffers no recoil damage. *'Rock Blast:' **Throwing a barrage of rocks, Lambert threatens to hit a target with multiple large rocks. The fact that this attack can hit multiple times makes it a threat - Lambert can fire off a large number of rocks quickly to cover a wide area, or focus the onslaught on a single target for heavier damage. One of her rare ranged attacks. *'Howl:' **Lambert emits a primal howl, instilling courage in herself and allies and heartening their morale. The effect is an increase in damage to all of their moves - the fact that she can bolster multiple allies at once makes this a very useful ability. Lambert will often use this buff early in a fight in order to bolster her attack power. *'Megahorn:' **Lambert rushes forward, using the business end of her large horn to inflict a terrifyingly powerful rush attack. Easily her most powerful attack, the impact from Lambert's Megahorn charge is so powerful that it can launch an opponent clear across the arena, threatening them not only with the damage from the impact, but potentially hurling them to the ground or even out of the ring! Because of this, Lambert tends to use Megahorn as her finishing blow. *'Rock Polish:' **Though Lambert's speed is normally fairly lackluster, if not outright poor, she can bolster it considerably by dynamically making her body armor more aerodynamic. This dramatically increases both her speed and her charge damage - smarter fighters will ensure that if Lambert pulls this move off, they are not caught within the path of one of her charges, lest the battle be over as quick as it began. *'Earthquake:' **Jumping in the air, Lambert slams down, generating a localized tremor that shakes the ground violently within 20' of her position. Anyone too close to the Rhyhorn when she performs this move risks being knocked down, if not damaged considerably from the shock and impact effects. Smarter mon will see this move coming a bit off, and get clear before she does it, but those near the impact zone should beware. *'Horn Drill:' **Charging forward, Lambert does a twisting charge that, should it succeed, will inflict a terrible wound that is all but guaranteed to end a fight in one singular blow. Due to the fact that she has to jump and spin to do it, it is not very accurate, but can end a battle instantly should this brutal attack connect with an opponent, armor and similar protections notwithstanding. *'Crush Claw:' **With a mighty swing from one of her massive mitts, Lambert claws at the target, threatening to shear through their armor and reduce their defense. Though her claws are small, designed primarily for burrowing, the force she can swing them with nonetheless makes this a dangerous attack at close range. Subsequent strikes from her claws let her combo this attack, but due to the impact, it is unlikely she'll connect with successive swings unless the target is unusually large or heavy. More soon. Interesting Flavor and Fluff * Karen has refused to evolve, citing that the change from Rhyhorn to successive species in her line would hinder her mobility too much. * Lambert is widely-accredited with being one of the teachers who encouraged Krys to start her own team. * Rumor persists that Lambert has attended Lulu's yoga seminars, but is resoundingly awful at them. It has not stopped her from trying.